


Endless Summer, Chapter 3/44 - Small talk is for small minds

by 9k4



Series: The Endless Summer Story [3]
Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, M/M, The Endless Summer Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 04:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14887421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9k4/pseuds/9k4





	Endless Summer, Chapter 3/44 - Small talk is for small minds

That night, I was haunted by that dream again.

“Stay down! It’s coming this way!” warned Sean.

“Taylor! Give me your hand!” said Jake.

“You don’t understand yet… do you?” taunted Everett Rourke. “Of course not. But you will…  _in time.”_

But  _this_ time, there was something else. At the end of the dream, I was being stalked by a predator. I turned around, but before I could see who, or  _what,_ was following me, I woke up, sweating.

Feeling hungry, and it being eight o’clock already, I made my way to the restaurant to have breakfast.

When I entered the restaurant, I saw that Grace, Aleister and Zahra were sat together at one table, Sean and Craig at another, and Michelle and Quinn at another. Jake and Raj sat at the bar, close to the other students. All of them were talking to each other.

Estela sat on her own, a fair distance away from everyone else, but still watching (and listening to) them. Lila and Diego hadn’t arrived yet.

They were all having breakfast, in the form of a buffet cooked by Raj, which included bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and a mixture he called the ‘Raj Hangover Special 9000’.

The conversations died out as soon as everyone noticed I was there. They turned to face me.

“Hey!” said Jake, smiling. “If it isn’t the boy scout who cried monster.”

“Yeah, Taylor, you shot down the party faster than the cops back home.” Raj complained.

 _“That’s_ what you care about?” Estela asked him, furiously. “Don’t you realise that if there  _were_  a predator, Taylor could’ve gotten hurt? Or  _killed?”_

I was about to apologise to everyone for lowering the mood last night, when I realised something… Estela was right! My life was  _far_ more important than their party. And I was going to defend myself.

“Estela’s right. If you want an apology for last night, that’s  _not_ gonna happen.” I told everyone, Jake and Raj especially. “I’m not going to pretend everything’s okay. Regardless of whether I saw something last night or not, there is  _something_ going on in this island, and we need to find out exactly what that is.”

“I was only tryna lighten the mood…” said Raj, despondently. Everyone gave me annoyed looks, but Estela looked at me, impressed… with  _admiration._

I grabbed some breakfast, and sat at the table with Grace, Aleister and Zahra. I would’ve sat with Diego, however, had he been here.

“I found something  _really_  interesting at the beach this morning.” Grace told us.

“Already, nerdette, you have 60 seconds ‘till I die of boredom. What did you find?” Zahra asked her.

“Well, I was walking on the beach this morning, and found some sea shells that I’ve never seen before.” she explained. “I even went back to my room to look them up in my marine biology textbook, but… nothing. I couldn’t find  _anything_  close to them-”

 _“Hold up.”_  Zahra interupted. “You brought your  _textbooks_  on holiday?”

“Um, yes?”

“Congrats.” said Zahra, sarcastically. “You’re officially the dorkiest person I’ve ever met.”

Aleister exhaled deeply.

“What a sad world we live in.” he lemented. “Seeking to be informed is deemed ‘dorky’ by today’s youth. I, for one, find Grace bringing her textbooks commendable.”

“You do?” Grace smiled at him, which caused Aleister to blush.

“Well, I… I do. O-of course.” replied Aleister, flustered.

“I agree. I don’t think there’s anything wrongwith bringing your textbooks on holiday.” I spoke to reduce the resulting awkwardness for Aleister.

It was then that Lila and Diego entered the restaurant, looking somewhat triumphant. Diego sat down next to me, and Lila stood at the front to address us.

“Good morning, everyone!” Lila greeted us. “I hope you’re enjoying breakfast in our 5-star restaurant! Diego and I were searching the reception area, and we think we’ve figured out what happened to the hotel guests!”

She paused for a few seconds, and looked at us expectantly, as if expecting us to answer, or clap… or maybe she was just creating tension.

“Spit it out then, dimples.” said Jake, impatiently.

“Well, on the evening the day before yesterday, someone triggered the emergency evacuation procedure!” she told us. “It’s a custom feature in Rourke International Hotels to protect our guests from natural disasters!”

I looked out the restaurant window and saw a volcano at the far end of the island.

“When you say natural disaster, do you mean a volcanic eruption?” I asked Lila, which sparked an outburst of energy from her.

“Yes! Precisely!” she beamed. “If Mount Atropo were to erupt,  _all_ our hotel guests would be  _burnt_  to ashes!”

“Why do you sound  _happy_ about that?” asked a stunned Zahra. I found it slightly funny that Lila’s over-cheeriness was having the same effect on Zahra as Zahra’s gloominess had on Lila.

“Look, I know nothing about geology, or science in general.” Jake confessed. “But I’m  _pretty_ sure there wasn’t an eruption twodays ago.”

“We have a designated shelter on the island, for our hotel guests, in case something like that happens.” Lila explained.

“Then the hotel guests may still be there.” Estela uncharacteristically spoke up. “This shelter… where is it, Lila?”

“I don’t know.” Lila confessed. “But the signs on the trail say we’ll find it if we hike east for five kilometres!”

“I’m going to find it.” Jake decided. “There’s a good chance Carlos will be at the shelter, and while you lot may be having fun playing  _Home Alone 2: Island Boogaloo,_  I’m losing money every day I’m stuck here. Are you joining me, boy scout?”

I hesitated, weighing up my curiosity versus my experience last night with the predator. Realising my uncertainty, Jake spoke up.

“You don’t have _to_  come, if you’re still shaken. Stay here and-”

“I’m coming.” I interrupted him, quickly, before he could say something that would change my mind.

“Really? Why?” Diego asked me.

“I want to find out what’s going on.” I replied. “I mean, aren’t you a little curious as to why the hotel guests went to the shelter, when the volcano  _clearly_ didn’t erupt?”

“Well, yes, I’m curious.” Diego admitted. “But I’ve also, you know, seen a horror movie.”

He tried to put on a sarcastic voice, but it didn’t work nearly as well on him as it did on Jake or Zahra.

“Hey, guys! Let’s go to this creepy shelter on an abandoned island! What could  _possibly_ go wrong?”

“But I’m going with you, Taylor. So if  _anything_ goes wrong, I can say that I told you so.”

“I’m going too.” Aleister announced. “I’d like to get the lay of the land around here.”

“Me too!” Quinn joined in. “There are waterfalls on the island, which sound  _perfect_ to me right about now.”

Twenty minutes later, after finishing breakfast, Lila, Jake, Diego, Aleister, Quinn and I were hiking to the shelter. We passed some odd flowers, ones that  _glowed,_ probably what Grace was referring to when she said that the island had rare flora.

Lila, who saw me observing the flowers, couldn’t help but fall into one of her tour guide speeches.

“Due to its geographical isolation, La Huerta has one of the most unique ecoystems in the world, with flora and fauna not found anywhere else in the  _whole world!”_

Jake couldn’t help but smile. “Sure thing, Minnie Mouse. Recite Rourke International propaganda all you want. I ain’t buying  _any_  of it.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Aleister.

“I  _mean_  that all the leaflets for La Huerta advertise it as a Disney Paradise.” Jake replied. “But if you drink in the right bars in Costa Rica, you’ll hear all sorts of rumours about what  _really_  goes on here. Employees going missing, illegal experiements, etc.”

 _“That_  is preposterous.” snapped Aleister.

“I’m not going to let some conspiracy theories stop me from enjoying the beauty of nature.” said Quinn, plucking a particularly radiant purple flower and holding it to her nose, inhaling deeply.

I, however, inexplicably found myself beliving Jake. I stepped away from the flowers.

“I’m not sure what to believe, but better safe than sorry.” I told the others. “Unique ecosystem or not, flowers should  _not_  glow like that.”

“I knew I could count on you,boy scout.” said Jake, before turning to face Quinn. “As for  _you,_  Pippi Longstocking… don’t blame me when you grow two noses.”

We walked on, and I found myself walking next to Aleister. Despite his antisocial and offputting personality, I decided to try and make small talk with him.

“Hey, Aleister, have you seen any good TV shows recently?” I asked him.

“Does it look like I’ve been accepted for a Master’s degree in law because I spend my days watching reality TV about overly-tanned simpletons?” he snapped back.

“I’m just trying to make small talk.” I told him.

“Small talk is for small minds, Taylor. And I don’t associate myself with either of them.” Aleister told me.

I turned away, thinking that was the end of the conversation, but Aleister went on.

“My father never believed I had what it takes to get a PhD.” Aleister continued. “Despite my flashes of academic brilliance, including, but not limited to, Level 6s in my SATs, 10 A*s at GCSE and 3 A*s at A Levels. So that’s why I only tolerate intelligence, Taylor - because after my Master’s, I’m going to get my PhD, and prove that  _bastard_ wrong.”

“You’re an intelligent young man, Aleister.” I complimented him. “If anyone can get a PhD, it’s you.”

Aleister just blinked. “I know.”

We reached the shelter about an hour later. Lila pushed open the doors, revealing it to be as abandoned as The Celestial.

The left wall had mostly crumbled away, revealing a large hole. I cautiously approached it… and involuntarily screamed when something jumped out of it!

That  _something_  was a blue fox, who, panicked, ran to the far corner of the shelter. Frost formed on the wall behind him.

“He-hello?” I asked the fox, stunned and not sure what to say or do.

“Can we agree that’s  _not_  a real animal?” asked Jake.

“What… is it?” asked a confused Aleister.

“Um,  _literally_  the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” replied Quinn, beaming.

“But what is he scared of?” asked Diego.

I didn’t have much time to make sense of the situation, because when I looked back into the hole, some eyes had suddenly appeared - the same predator that I saw last night!

The predator, which turned out to be a tiger, leaped out and started to approach the fox!

 _“That!”_ replied Aleister. “It’s scared of that!”

“You think?” Lila asked him, sarcastically.

“Maverick, what do we do?” I asked Jake, figuring that he was the one here most able to deal with the situation.

But for the first time, I saw him scared.

“Don’t… move.” he managed.


End file.
